Fitness Icon, Author and Health Guru. Born Robert Bootzin, to Jewish immigrant parents, he defined what it meant to live close to nature decades before the nation’s current obsession with organic foods, yoga and exercise. His philosophy of clean living, exercise and healthy eating was laid out in his books, “Barefeet and Good Things to Eat” and “The Gypsy in Me.” His lifestyle was immortalized in the 1948 Nat King Cole hit “Nature Boy” and in 1958, he opened the “Health Hut” on Beverly Boulevard that served organic foods to a host of A-list celebrities. It attracted thousands of fans worldwide which netted him 25 appearances on the Steve Allen Show in the early 1960s. His health practices included celebrities Marlon Brando, Jay Leno, Paul Newman and Muhammad Ali. He was known as the embodiment for the positive attitude of good health and good will. He died of natural causes at age 89. (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)